not_confusedfandomcom-20200214-history
2020 Democratic Primaries for President of the United States
The 2020 Democratic presidential primaries were the selection processes by which voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren was selected as the nominee. Due to a close race between Biden and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, the contest remained competitive for longer than expected, and neither candidate received enough pledged delegates from state primaries and caucuses to achieve a majority, without endorsements from unpledged delegates (superdelegates). Warren received enough superdelegate endorsements on June 3 to claim that she had secured the simple majority of delegates necessary to win the nomination, and Biden conceded the nomination four days later. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who also ran for President in 2020, was selected as Vice Presidential Nominee. Warren was nominated on the first ballot, at the August convention. Warren went on to lose the general election to Republican Nominee, Nikki Haley. Candidates Campaign Early Campaigning ' The race for the 2020 presidential nomination after the 2018 midterm elections. Between November 2018 and February 2019, eight major candidates opened their campaigns - Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, Former Vice President Joe Biden, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz, Florida Congresswoman Fredrica Wilson, and Massachusetts Representative Seth Moulton - joining Congressman John Delaney, who had announced his candidacy in 2017. Potential candidates Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, California Senator Kamala Harris, Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, and Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard reportedly considered running but ultimately declined to seek the nomination. Delaney dropped out in February 2019. In the first three months of 2019, Warren and Biden raised more than $20 million each and Gillibrand raised more than $12 million. The three candidates quickly became the frontrunners for the nomination, a status they held all the way through the end of 2019. At the end of the year, December 31, Biden held a substantial lead in superdelegates, and he was leading in the national polls with 42% of likely voters, over Warren, 23%, and Gillibrand, 16%. However, Gillibrand and Warren remained close in state polls for the early contests, including the Iowa caucuses, where the final polling average had Warren leading narrowly, 31%, over Biden, 30%, Gillibrand, 26%, Cooper, 5%, and O'Mallet, 5%. '''Iowa ' Warren won the Iowa caucuses with 38% of the vote, over Gillibrand, 30%, and Biden, 29%. Wilson, Schwatz, and O'Malley withdrew from the race. 'New Hampshire ' In Iowa, Biden won with a three percent lead over Warren. Cooper withdrew from the Race and endorsed Biden. 'Nevada ' After recieving the endorsement of Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, Biden won in Nevada with a 8% lead over Warren, and 14% of Gillibrand Moulton withdrew from the race and endorsed Elizabeth Warren. '''South Carolina Super Tuesday ' After Warren's victory in South Carolina and Iowa, and Biden's victory in New Hampshire and Nevada, neither candidate had an advantage going into Super Tuesday. Warren won most of the key states in Super Tuesday, taking Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, and North Dakota. Biden won in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Utah. While Gillibrand took second place in the states of Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Utah, she did not win in any states, despite campaigning heavily. The day after Super Tuesday, she withdrew from the race, and endorsed Elizabeth Warren. '''Mid-February Contests ' 'March ' '''April and Beyond Vice Presidential Nomination 2020 Democratic National Convention